Windowed oven door



Nov. 26, 1968 c. G. BACH, JR

WINDOWED OVEN DOOR Filed Sept.

INVENTOR. CARL 6. EACH IR.

BY C o a ms ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,412,726 WINDOWED OVEN DOOR Carl G. Bach, .lr., Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 576,885 4 Claims. (Cl. 126200) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a windowed door having both an outer door panel and a spaced inner door panel of sheet metal construction fastened thereto. Each door panel has a window opening, where the opening in the outer panel is larger than the one in the inner panel. The edge of the window opening in the outer door panel has an inner beveled extension of the outer door panel that serves as a transition frame substantially joining the edges of the two window openings, there being a glass pane over each window opening. Thermal insulation is positioned in the door in the area surrounding the window.

The present invention relates to windowed doors and particularly to such doors that are for use with heated cavities, such as baking ovens for use at normal coo-king temperatures between about 150 F. and 550 F.

The average housewife today is greatly interested in having an oven with a window in the door so that she may examine the food while it is being cooked and thereby prevent overcoo-king. She is also interested in having a large window so that she may view the back reaches of the oven without having to resort to contortions. While it is desirable to have a large transparent area for the window, it is also imperative that the door serve as a thermal barrier so as not to lose a large amount of the heat energy through and around the door. Otherwise this might change the cooking characteristics in the front portion of the oven and give unpredictable results from one use of the oven to the next.

From the manufacturers point of view it is not only well to provide windowed oven doors and especially large windows, as well as provide a good thermal barrier for the oven cavity, but it is also important to offer a door design which will have the least number of parts and may be sold at a reasonable price as well as presenting a modern appearance that is pleasing to the eye.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a windowed oven door with a decorative, internal beveled frame for the window opening, while using the least number of parts for obtaining the desired result.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a windowed oven door having a shadow-box effect around the window opening, and avoiding the necessity of providing a two-pane glazing unit subassembly as has been used heretofore.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a windowed oven door where the outer door panel has inward extensions serving to form a mask or frame around the window opening.

The present invention, in accordance with one form thereof, is embodied in a door structure for a heated cavity having an outer door panel and a spaced inner door panel, both fastened together to form a hollow structure. A window opening is formed in each inner and outer door panel, with the opening in the outer door panel being larger than the opening in the inner door panel. A first glass pane is sealed over the window opening .of the inner door panel. The edge of the window opening in the outer door panel has an inner extension beveled to serve as a transition surface substantially framing the first window opening, and there is a second 3,412,726 Patented Nov. 26, 1968 "ice glass pane covering the second window opening. Thermal insulation is positioned in the door in the area surrounding the window.

My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an eye-level oven for use in the home having a windowed oven door embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevational view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1 and showing the front of the oven and particularly the cross-sectional configuration of the windowed oven door.

Turning to a consideration of the drawing, and in particular to FIGURE 1, there is shown for illustrative purposes an eye-level oven 10 having a box-like configuration with an outer oven housing 11 and anvinner cooking cavity 12 created by an inner oven liner 13 and a front-opening oven door 14. As is standard in this art there is a layer of thermal insulating material 15 surrounding the walls of the inner oven liner 13 for retaining the heat for cooking purposes. At the left side of the oven housing 11 there is an oven control panel 16 which covers a wiring compartment that extends from front to back of the oven housing. The panel supports a plurality of control elements 17, whether it be electric switches in the case of an electric oven or gas valves in the case of gas ovens. Also there would be clock-timers, thermostatic controls and the like.

Since the present invention is directed toward a win dowed oven door, the remainder of the description will be devoted to the manner of constructing the door to derive the desired results. The door 14 is a vertically hinged door by means of a pair of binge pins 19 and 20 located at the right side of the oven at the top and bottom thereof respectively to form a vertical hinge axis. A small door handle 22 is formed at the lower left hand corner of the door 14 so as to be adjacent the free edge of the door for creating a hand hold so that the door may be engaged and moved between open and closed positions. It will readily be apparent to those skilled in this art that this windowed oven door invention is not limited to a vertically hinged door for an eye-level oven as has been illustrated. It has equal utility with a fold down oven door of a free-standing range or a built-in wall oven.

The construction of the door may be best understood by reference to FIGURE 2. There is an outer door panel 25 of sheet metal construction having a peripheral edge with a rearwardly turned flange 26 resulting in a pan-shape of shallow depth. There is also an inner door panel 2 8 of similar pan-shape having a frontwardly directed flange 29 on the peripheral edge thereof. The two door panels are spaced apart by virtue of the flanges 26 and 29 and are held together by suitable fastening means such as lanced tabs 31 at the lower edge of the door struck from the flange 26 and engaged in suitable apertures 32 in the mating flange 29. At the upper edge of the door the two flanges 26 and 29 are fastened together with a series of spaced fastening screws such as screw 34.

The inner door panel 28 is provided with a first window opening 36 of generally rectangular shape. The edge of this opening 36 has a short forwardly directed flange 37. There is a decorative trim member 39 which is assembled through the window opening 36 from the front side thereof and held in place by a rolled-over edge 40- which slips onto the flange 37. Hence, it will be seen that the decorative trim member 39 serves to shield the edge of the opening as well as provide a receiving framework for a first glass pane 42 that is seated therein from the inner side. It is important to provide a moisture tight seal around the edge of the glass pane 42, and this is furnished by a strip of resilient gasket material 44 held in the trim member 39 and against which the pane is pressed.

The outer door panel 25 is also provided with a generally rectangular windo-w opening 46 which is larger in size than the opening 36 in the inner door panel 28. The edge of the window opening 46 is provided with a rearward extension 47 of beveled configuration that is integral with the outer door panel and substantially bridges the gap between the outer door panel and the inner door panel by having a rear edge 48 which is adapted to bear against the front side of the glass pane 42 at a line generally parallel to the innermost edge of the trim strip 39, as is best seen in FIGURE 2. Hence, the beveled surface 47 serves as a transition surface that creates a frame or shadow-box effect around the window opening 36 in the inner door panel 28.

A second glass pane 50 is placed over the window opening 46 in the outer door panel 25 so as to create a dead air space 51 in the door to serve as a thermal barrier. A second decorative trim 53 serves as a frame to overlie the periphery of the second glass pane 50. The rear side of the trim member 53 has a series of projecting pins 55 which extend through suitable openings in the outer door panel 25 and are fitted with speed nuts 56 or similar fastening devices for holding the trim member 53 tightly in place.

A layer of thermal insulation 58 is installed in the door in the area surrounding the window opening as is best seen in FIGURE 2.

Having described above my invention of a novel Windowed oven door it will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art that the lower portion of the door is formed by the outer door panel 25 as seen in FIGURE 1, and that the entire door is substantially without a peripheral frame. In other words, the door proper is framed simply by the flange 26 of the outer door panel 25. Moreover, the window opening 36 in the inner door panel is framed by a beveled surface 47 that is an integral part of the outer door panel. This beveled surface may have the same color or finish as the outer door panel 25 or it may be of a contrasting color or finish.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art therefore it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A door for a heated cavity comprising both an outer door panel and an inner door panel of sheet metal construction fastened together to form an integral unit, the inner door panel having a large first opening formed therein, a first glass pane sealed over the said first opening, the outer door panel having a larger sec-nd opening generally in alignment with the first opening, the peripheral edge of the second opening being formed with an inward beveled extension of the outer door panel to constitute a transition surface which gives the optical effect of joining the peripheral edge of the larger second opening to the peripheral edge of the large first opening, and a second glass pane sealed over the outside of said second opening, while the outer surface of the outer door panel and its beveled extension has the same appearance finish.

2. An oven door comprising a generally pan-shaped outer door panel with a rearwardly directed peripheral flange, and a generally pan-shaped inner door panel with a frontwardly directed peripheral flange for telescopic cooperation with the said rearwardly directed flange, the

inner door panel having a first window opening formed therein, the outer door panel having a larger window opening formed therein, the peripheral edge of the said larger window opening being formed as an extension of the outer door panel with an inwardly beveled surface which extends inwardly toward and mates with the peripheral edge of the said first window opening of the inner door panel, a first glass pane sealed over the said window opening, and a second glass pane sealed over the outside of said larger window opening, and fastening means for holding the two door panels together, and thermal insulating material present within the door in the area surrounding the window, while the outer surface of the outer door panel and its beveled extension has the same appearance finish.

3. A windowed oven door comprising an outer door panel with a rearwardly directed peripheral flange, an inner door panel with a frontwardly directed peripheral flange for mating engagement with the bcforementioned flange, the inner door panel having a first window opening formed therein, a first decorative trim member circumscribing the edge of the said first opening, a first glass pane sealed within the said trim member, a larger window opening formed in the outer door panel and generally centered over the said first opening, the peripheral edge of the larger opening having an inwardly beveled transition strip as an extension of the outer door panel so as to join the peripheral edges of the two openings to give a shadow-box effect, and a second glass pane covering the outside of said larger opening, and a second glass pane covering the outside of said larger opening, and a second decorative trim member circumscribing the edge of the second pane, fastening means for holding the second trim in place, and fastening means for connecting the two door panels together, and thermal insulation located within the door in the area surrounding the window, while the outer surface of the outer door panel and its beveled extension has the same appearance finish.

4. A windowed oven door comprising an outer door panel and a spaced inner door panel fastened together to form a hollow structure, the inner door panel having a generally rectangular window opening, a decorative trim member shielding the edge of said opening, a first glass pane seated within the trim members, the outer door panel also having a generally rectangular window opening but larger than the first opening, the edge of this second window opening having an inner extension of the outer door panel that is beveled to mate with the window opening in the inner door panel and serve as a transition surface substantially framing the said first window opening, a second glass pane covering the outside of said second window opening, and a decorative trim member fastened to the outer door panel for bold ing the second glass pane in place, and thermal insulat ing material positioned in the door in the area surrounding the window, while the outer surface of the outer door panel and its beveled extension has the same appearance finish.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,794,434 6/1957 Evans l26200 D. 195,610 7/1963 Blee et :11.

2,536,956 1/1951 Reeves 126200 3,208,446 9/1965 Hopkins et a1. 126200 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 451,702 8/1936 Great Britain.

KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner. 

